Packages of cut filaments



Sept. 3, 1957 F. E. ANDERSON PACKAGES 0F cur FILAMENTS Filed Aug. 23, 1955 V a I 7 INVENTOR FREDERICK EDWIN ANDERSON BY Z w I ATTORNEY United States Patent PACKAGES OF CUT FILAMENTS Frederick E. Anderson, Elizabeth, W. Va., assignor to E. I. du Pout de N emours and Company, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Application August 23, 1955, Serial No. 530,019

6 Claims. (Cl. 206-56) This invention relates to a novel package for cut filaments or bristles.

In the past, bristles have been packaged by forming a handful of bristles into a cylindrical bundle and placing one or more rubber bands around that bundle. Such a package has many defects; for example, (1) the rubber bands may slip or be accidentally expanded, causing the bristles to be freed from the bundle; (2) bristles in contact with the rubber bands are usually crimped by the pressure of the rubber bands and are therefore not usable; (3) cylindrical bundles of bristles are not susceptible to mechanized processing or automation, except with rather complex apparatus; and (4) tapered bristles form a conical bundle from which the rubber band may slip rather easily. I

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages experienced by former methods of packaging bristles by providing a package in which a thin bed of bristles or cut filaments is sewn, by means of one or more rows of chain stitching, to a continuous web or tape. It is another object of this invention to provide a portable package of bristles or cut filaments which comprises a spool onto which is wound a continuous length of filaments sewn to a tape as described.

The term cut filaments wherever used in this description and in the appended claims is intended to mean a multiplicity of fibers or filaments, natural or synthetic, which have a relatively short finite length as distinguished from a continuous fiber or filament which is normally wound on a spool or packaged as a skein. It is, of course, immaterial whether the cut filaments have been so formed by cutting with a knife, a saw, a torch, or any other such means.

The novel package of this invention may be prepared by (1) employing a bed of bristles which are placed sideby-side with the bristle ends in substantial alignment; (2) coaxially superposing on the bed of bristles a continuous tape, which, preferably, is somewhat narrower than the width of the bed of bristles; and (3) sewing the tape to the bed of bristles by one or more rows of chain stitching so that each single stitch binds a small bundle of bristles.

A more complete understanding of this invention may be had by reference to the attached drawings, which illustrate the preferred embodiment of this invention. Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of a portion of a continuous package of filaments. Figure 2 is a detailed view of a package of filaments showing the preferred type of stitching employed to bind small bundles of filaments to a continuous tape. Figure 3 illustrates a spool upon which is Wound a length of the continuous belt of filaments shown in Figure 1.

Specific reference to Figures 1 and 2 indicates the manner in which a bed of individual cut filaments or bristles is formed into a belt-like article for packaging. A thin layer, or bed, of individual filaments is sewn by means of two spaced rows of stitching 3 to a web or tape 1. The filaments may be bunched together to form a continuous bed as indicated in the drawings, or the bed may be discontinuous by having gaps where thereare no filaments. Preferably, a row of stitching is placed near each edge of tape 1. The individual stitches in rows 3 bind the filaments into small bundles 2. It is not important that the rows of stitching be synchronized with the bundles 2 in such a fashion that a single stitch in each of rows 3 binds a single bundle 2. Thus, a certain group i of filaments may form a complete bundle bound by a single stitch in one of rows 3, while that samegroup of filaments may not all be bound by a single stitch in the other row 3. Each of rows 3 is therefore independent of the other. A single row of stitching may be used in certain embodiments of this invention, for example, when the bristles are very short in length, and, on the other hand, three or more rows of stitching may be advanis then sewn to the bed of bristles by two rows of stitching. There may be instances when two tapes should be employed, one on each side of the bed of bristles. The filaments may be tapered or level filaments. Tape 1 may be paper, textile, plastic, or any material capable of being sewn with an ordinary sewing machine.

It is preferable that the individual bristles be substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the tape,

so that'a mechanism for releasing the bristles from the tape and stitching may operate most efficiently. Such a mechanism is described and claimed in copending patent application Serial No. 530,020, filed by Frederick Edwin Anderson on Aug. 23, 1955, now Patent No. 2,781,572, issued Feb. 19, 1957. However, for other purposes, the bristles may be placed at an angle with the tape, so long as the ends of the bristles extend at least to the stitching.

The particular form of stitching employed is shown in Figure 2. This type of stitching is known as chain stitching, the preferred type being the single thread chain stitching shown in Figure 2. This type of stitching is formed with a single thread, and the stitching is loosened by pulling on that single thread.

Another type of stitching which is operable is double thread chain stitching, commonly found on sugar sacks, and the like. This stitching is formed with two threads and the stitching is loosened by pulling on both threads.

It may be seen in Figure 2 that each stitch forms a loop as shown at 5, which loop encircles and is held by the next adjacent loop, as generally indicated at 6. Each loop at 5 is connected to its adjacent loop by a single span of thread at 4. Each loop is therefore held tightly around its bundle of filaments 2 by tension on the preceding loop. It may be seen, therefore, that this type of stitching is easily released by merely pulling on the cut end of the thread, which, in effect, unzippers the chain stitching in a successive fashion. The same pulling effect may,

of course, be applied by pulling the tap 1 away from the filaments 2, in which case the thread 4 and loops 5 are separated from the filament bundles 2 butrernain attached to tape 1. The length of the stitch in the longitudinal direction is approximately the same as the thickness of the bed of filaments; thus, the stitch shown schematically in Figure 2 causes each stitch to be essentially square when viewed in elevation. It is to be understood that in actual practice the stitches would bind bundles 2 much tighter than is shown in Figure 2, which is drawn schematically so as to picture the thread in each stitch.

In Figure 3, there is indicated a preferred method of Patented Sept. ,1951

assembling a large, transportable package of the continuous belt of filaments of Figure 1. A spool 7 having a bore 8, capable of being mounted on a spindle for unwindingis filled with the continuous belt of filaments by winding such a belt onto the spool until it is full. It is to be understood that containers other than spools may be used to hold a continuous length of the belt of filaments shown in Figure 1. For example, the continuous belt may be loaded into a box in a layered fashion similar to the method employed in loading belts of machine-gun bullets into box containers. Other types of containers may be apparent to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A portable package of single length individual filaments comprising a spool upon which is wound a continuous strip of paper bound to a continuous thin layer of individual filaments arranged and aligned substantially perpendicular to said strip, the filaments being bound to said paper by two parallel rows of single thread chain stitching.

2. A package of bristles comprising a spool upon which is wound a continuous aligned layer of bristles sewn in a series of small bundles to one side of a paper tape, the bristles being positioned substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said tape and extending beyond both edges of said tape, the bristles being sewn to said tape by at least two continuous rows of single thread chain stitching, each individual stitch holding one of said small bundles of bristles.

3. As an article of manufacture, a means for releasably securing loose filaments in the form of a continuous belt comprising a web sewn by a row of chain stitching to a layer of individual filaments aligned in -a direction transverse to the length of said web, said chain stitching running lengthwise of said web, individual stitches of said chain stitching binding individual bundles of filaments to said web.

4. An article of manufacture in the form of a continuous belt to which loose filaments are releasably secured, comprising a web sewn by two spaced rows of chain stitching to a layer of individual filaments aligned in a direction transverse to the length of said web, said chain stitching running lengthwise of said web, individual stitches of said chain stitching binding individual bundles of filaments to said web.

5. The article of manufacture of claim 4 in which said web is a paper tape which is narrower than the length of said filaments.

6. An article of manufacturing in the form of a continuous belt to which loose bristles are releasably secured by means of stitching, comprising a continuous paper tape sewn by means of two rows of chain stitching to a thin layer of bristles of substantially the same length and placed parallel to each other in side-by-side relationship, such'that the ends of the bristles form two parallel edges substantially perpendicular to the axis of each bristle, said paper tape being superposed on said layer of filaments, and being positioned parallel to, and between, said edges, said paper tape being pierced by two spaced rows of chain stitching and bound to said layer of bristles in such a fashion that each in a series of stitches encircles each in a series of small bundles of bristles and binds such bundles to said paper tape.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Von Hofe et al Dec. 18, 1945 

